Land's End at Cabo!!!

Where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez - just beautiful!

We sailed on a catamaran to Land's End, went to a glass blowing factory where they recycle glass into amazing pieces, saw beautiful cacti, had lunch at a cantina in San Jose del Cabo and rested at a wonderful restaurant overlooking the bay at Cabo. (I bought a disposable camera so I wouldn't have to worry about carting around my big camera, so I need to get the photos developed!)

I didn't think I'd ever say it, but I got tired of food - every night our waiter would not only bring us what we ordered, but would bring us things from previous evenings that we had fancied! My fav - Chocolate Melting Cake that oozed sweet chocolate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, of course! I did only indulge in one serving of lobster!

I treated myself to spa treatments the second day we were on ship - it was quite divine to lay back, relax and have six different mini treatments. I went back to my room, curled up for a couple hours for a nice nap.

We played bingo, we ate, ate some more and pretty much just hung out on the way down to Cabo and on the way back.

The day we left on the cruise we had a marvelous champagne brunch in Old Town San Diego and did a little shopping there, but our time in San Diego was all too short because we didn't want to miss our ship. I see more San Diego time in my near future.

Now, it's time to catch up on lots of things, finish final preparations for my brother's surprise birthday party on Friday and attend a luncheon tomorrow for the newbie's of our newcomer's group - I volunteered to be on the board next year. I stumbled upon my high school yearbooks this week and sat down for a trip down memory lane - even back when I was 13, I had to be involved in things - organizing, planning.

This weekend was spent lazying around - the weather was cool and rainy, so I just couldn't resist renting some movies, making a big pot of stew and vegging.

Fall is definitely here - enjoy!
Joan

Today is the two month anniversary of my BIG move to Morro Bay. Many thoughts came to mind and in thinking back I have accomplished many, many things - most very small but some very BIG.

I joined a newcomers club with off-shoots from the main group depending on your interests. Last week I had the wonderful pleasure of attending my first Gourmet Dinner group. Ten ladies gathered at a home where we enjoyed lovely food and interesting conversation until very late. The ladies are very diverse in education, jobs and families and our topics ranged from the overuse of antibiotics to wine to men. There was NEVER a dull moment. It's fun to be thinking about what I will serve when it's my turn, a theme, a special place - maybe a beach party! All of a sudden Beach Blanket Bingo came to mind - hmmmmm...there might be something to that!

I finished up a very rewarding writing job today. The people I worked with were very appreciative and very professional. This job has been 'hanging over my head' since before I moved and I'm happy to have it off my to do list. There was an added twist to this job - I connected with an elementary school classmate who works there. I was emailing her about our elementary school centennial and she said she'd mailed off a package to a Joan Fee that week - small, small world!

I am very excited about this weekend (mixed with a little dread) that my brother is coming over and we're going to work in my front yard - it's been neglected for years and years and at this point is an eyesore with dirt, weeds and a few of my flowers sprinkled along the outskirts. The people who lived here before drove their truck in the yard so there are ruts and holes. We will be adding soil, putting in a retaining wall and pavers to cover the yard area. It's also Harbor Festival this weekend which means tons of entertainment and we're even going on a tour of the power plant - it's the other thing besides Morro Rock that dominates the skyline.

Last weekend was my elementary school centennial. Our principal and his wife had been at the school for 47 years and she passed away earlier this year so his speech was very emotional. One of the stories he told was how he and his wife moved from Iowa to The Island School District and sat crying at their kitchen table when they first got here because they actually thought they were moving to an island. The Island gets its name because it's a strip of land (pretty big strip) between two rivers. Mrs. Wilson was my seventh grade teacher and both were a great inspiration to me and my family since I was in kindergarten - actually before that because my sister went to school there also (my younger brother graduated from there too, he now works there and his two sons attend school there).

My next door neighbors got into the spirit today - a new Halloween flag was flying by this afternoon with orange lights adorning their patio and I see purple light in their kitchen window. It's fabulous to have neighbors who get in the spirit.

I am so looking forward to Cruisin' to Cabo later this month. It's a five day cruise (plus we're leaving a day early to spend some time in San Diego (one of my favorite cities!) the day before we leave. We're only at Cabo for a day, so we're planning our leisure time on the ship - lots of reading, lots of doing nothing and more doing nothing. The dynamics of 14 people in one group will be interesting and in talking about our day in Cabo, it seems as though we all want to do something different - we'll see how that plays out.

The weather is absolutely fantastic - I have lived in Morro Bay before, but I don't remember it being such a joy during the fall.

The sun has set on another beautiful day and it's time to chill - tomorrow's a big day - I get to order fill dirt, retainer wall bricks and pavers! Yippeee!!! My sister reminded me to take before and after photos.

I will leave you with a quote from a friend - it's about singing, but it can be about anything that brings you happiness be it knitting, crafting - whatever..."Singing is medicine for the soul, good or bad singing will still bring happiness to the singer. "

Joan

Color...

When it comes time to select colors for your next project whether it is a quilt or a painting or a new color for a room - look around you for inspiration - you might find it on a carousel horse, a blade of grass, a child's hair color... Notice what color calls to you.

I once got onto a real cobalt blue kick after going out on a snorkeling boat off Maui. I bought vases, I bought fabric, I bought anything I could find that was cobalt blue.

I heard a conversation at Christmas where a woman was buying something just because her sister loved the color - as I watched her, she was picking up anything and everything that was that color.

If you're selecting several colors like for a quilt, pick one fabric that you like with lots of colors and then match the colors within the fabric. You'll know they go together well.

Happy crafting,

Joan

SAN DIEGO, a party (yes, another one!) and lots of ahhhhh time...

My trip to San Diego was one of those "just do it" things. I saw a workshop on-line, saw it was on a long weekend and decided to go for it...little did I know it would be a life changing experience.

I'd been a Navy wife in San Diego almost 30 years ago, but had only been back maybe twice since then. I had no other plans for the weekend except for my 7 hour workshop on Saturday then Sunday and Monday were MINE to re-explore a city I used to call home!

As the plane took off, I tried to set aside something that had happened that day and witness the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen. I had a strange shift in my thought process in that I looked at the situation asking myself - what is the life lesson I'm supposed to learn from this???...

When I got on my connector plane in LA, a man was sitting in my seat and the woman in the seat across the aisle said "I've known him for 41 years, I'll sit next to him". The woman and I chatted until the plane took off - she's an author and her husband was a Navy fighter pilot. Once the plane took off we couldn't talk because of the noise.

As we came in for a landing, the many twinkling lights of San Diego reminded me of a pirate's treasure chest laid out in front of my eyes -overflowing with beautiful shiny trinkets waiting to be scooped up and enjoyed!

When we were about to get off the plane, Judy asked if I liked music and when I said "yes", she said they were having a pianist in their home on New Years Eve and that if I didn't get a better offer I was welcome. I didn't commit either way.

No trip to San Diego would be complete without time in Balboa Park. I was delighted to hear the organist practice the 1920's organ getting ready for the New Year's concert that afternoon - there's nothing like a organ playing auld lang syn to bring a tear to the eyes.

The dragon and people are made with thousands of tiny mosaic and glass pieces. They were awesome!
The arborium has always been one of my favorite places at Balboa Park.

Then on to Mission Bay where I saw the most incredible sight! These are kites probably 20 feet long! The old wooden rollercoaster was a hoot along with other midway rides.














I can't forget the party - I never hesitated for a second to go, even though I'd only chatted with Judy for a brief few moments - I met the most incredible people - they were from a choral group Judy had started a couple years back. We sang, ate, played a phrase game...we watched a fifteen minute fireworks display over the bay from their home. Thank you Judy for an awesome evening!

I spent my last day just driving around San Diego, turning left when I wanted to go left and right when it felt right to go right - I just enjoyed the sights and friendliness of San Diego...I won't wait as long to return this time...

Joan

SAN DIEGO, a party (yes, another one!) and enjoyin' life...

jI'm very excited!!!

I'm off to San Diego to ring in the new year! I haven't been there for ages and it will bring back many memories of the 4 years I lived there. It will be an interesting journey for me. Of course, I'm taking my camera to take some hopefully awesome photos of the area and of some creative things that I spot.

Resolutions! Yes, I've been thinking about them and will continue to think about them - I'm a goal oriented kind of gal, so this time of year just begs for me to come up with some challenging things to pursue.

Definitely one of my resolutions is to craft more and create something for me! Maybe a life collage...

Until next week, have a safe and creative weekend.
Joan